A Voice from Old New York

Auchincloss (The Rector of Justin), who died in January 2010, was a prolific novelist, essayist, biographer, literary critic, and lawyer. Born into a well-to-do New York family, he was best known for his fictional works chronicling the world of the moneyed elite. His previous venture into autobiography was A Writer's Capital in 1974. In the present volume, Auchincloss focuses mainly on the early years of his life, covering everything from his trials at prestigious boarding schools to his earliest attempts at writing. Along the way he offers portraits of family members (including glimpses of his cousin's daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) and family friends (such as socialite Brooke Astor), as well as servants, fellow writers, and colleagues in the law profession. Auchincloss's prose is spare, clear, witty, and engaging, reading much like one of his novels with breezy dialog and anecdotes.